The UAE-based cable maker Ducab says it has won a deal to supply Korean Hydro-Nuclear Power (KHNP) for its Shin Hanul 1 and 2 reactors, which are currently under construction.

Ducab, a 50-50 partnership between the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and Abu Dhabi’s General Holding Corporation (Senaat), said its NuBICC range of nuclear-power-qualified cables have been selected by the South Korean company for its latest power plant project.

The project win follows significant testing and qualifications, Ducab said, and represents the first international nuclear project for the company.

Ahmad Bin Hassan Al Shaikh, Ducab’s chairman, said: “Our nuclear cable team at Ducab worked hard to win this contract against well-established international competition. This project win by Ducab is a matter of pride for the company, as well as for the entire manufacturing and industrial sector in the UAE. Our national leadership has consistently encouraged us to constantly innovate and show the best of the UAE to the outside world, and being a part of a nationally-critical project in Korea with KHNP shows that Ducab has now emerged in the region to stand alongside the best-known and leading cable manufacturers in the world.”

Ducab has already been selected by the UAE’s Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) to supply nuclear cables to the Barakah Power Plant in the country. Nuclear power cables are extremely demanding products within the electrical cabling industry, Ducab said, and its supplies to the UAE plant have been tested and qualified for an operating life of 60 years.

The company is also the first cable manufacturer in the Middle East region to introduce and qualify the 60-year, sustainable halogen-free cables meeting the stringent North American IEEE cable testing standards. The same standards have been customised and adapted in the UAE’s first four nuclear power plants, Ducab said. In the event of a fire, the cables will not emit smoke or toxic fumes and will also act as a fire retardant.

“We would like to congratulate Ducab for this important milestone for the industrial sector of the UAE,” said Seok Cho, chief executive officer of KHNP. “Providing nuclear-grade materials is the highest form of quality mark and this is a major achievement. Considering the sensitive and critical needs of a nuclear power facility, we conducted a proper audit and are happy to announce that Ducab got nominated for the tender bid among global competition.”

KHNP is also collaborating with the UAE on advanced nuclear power plant technology and is working with ENEC for knowledge transfer, training, operations and more. The fact that they selected a UAE cable manufacturer for their own cable requirements in Korea demonstrates the trust reposed in the nuclear power and ancillary sectors in the UAE, Ducab said.